Teenage Werewolf
by SecretForKeeps
Summary: Merlin is the new kid in school: awkward, shy, and adorable. Arthur is the captain of the basketball team: athletic, funny, and handsome. By the way, Merlin also has magic and Arthur is a werewolf. High school drama ensues. High school romance AU partly inspired by Teen Wolf.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, as you may or may not have guessed from the title, this story is partly inspired by the show Teen Wolf, though I promise the plot is not at all similar, and if you've never seen Teen Wolf, don't worry about it. (Or rather, yes, worry about it, because you're missing a fantastic show.) This just happens to be a supernatural high school au, with lots of action and fluff and hijinks. I'm not sure how regularly I'll be updating, but I do have the story planned out, so hopefully I won't leave you all waiting. Enjoy!

* * *

"Think fast!"

Arthur caught the ball that had been tossed at him with quicker-than-the-eye-can-see reflexes as he hurried down the hall to his next class. He laughed and tossed it back to his friend and teammate Gwaine, who was grinning smugly by his locker (he remembered that Gwaine had a free period right now, the lucky bastard), then continued on to his chemistry classroom.

When he entered the room, he took a seat at the table behind another one of his teammates Lance. Tall, dark, and handsome, Lance was sitting next to his long-time girlfriend Gwen. The two turned slightly in their seats to include him in their conversation. "Hey Arthur! Get all your homework done?"

They chatted for a while until Lance said, "Coach told me to tell you to get to practice early today. I think he wants to talk to you about the match."

He nodded. "Yeah, probably. Thanks." As captain of the basketball team, it wasn't uncommon for the coach to call him in to discuss the training schedule or upcoming games.

He was suddenly distracted by the sound of someone talking, a deep voice he didn't recognize having a one-way conversation, which meant it was probably someone on the phone. He glanced out the window and saw someone lingering by one of the school's side doors, with a phone to his ear.

"Yes, mom… no, it's fine, I—yeah. I really have to go now… I said it was fine, don't worry about me. Yeah. Okay. Love you, too. Bye."

The guy turned around and Arthur got a better look at him. Tall, with dark hair and high cheekbones, he was wearing a black jacket and a pair of skinny jeans, making them look good in a way very few people could. Arthur knew he'd definitely never seen him around before-he would have definitely noticed him before now.

The guy was rummaging around in the pocket of his backpack.

"Great," Arthur could hear him muttering. "My first day, and already I forgot to bring a pencil." He sighed and went inside, out of Arthur's line of sight.

The teacher, an older man who just went by Gaius, was already at the front of the classroom, getting his teaching materials ready. The boy Arthur had seen outside walked in through the doorway and paused, looking hesitant as he approached Gaius. Arthur was able to take in the details that even his keen eyesight hadn't been able to see earlier, like how full his lips were or the bright blue color of his eyes.

Gaius, who had been listening to the boy speak to him in a low voice announced, "Everyone, this is Merlin Emrys. He'll be joining us from today on. Merlin, why don't you take a seat by Mr. Pendragon. Arthur, if you could raise your hand?"

He did so, happily, as he realized his was the only table with a free chair.

The guy, Merlin, smiled shyly as he walked down the aisle, toward his table. Arthur took a deep breath, inhaling his scent, a delightful combination that smelled like men's shampoo, autumn leaves, and hot cocoa. When he sat down next to him, Arthur realized he was probably staring.

He smiled, in what he hoped was a friendly manner. "I'm Arthur. Nice to meet you."

"Merlin," he replied. "Nice to meet you, too." He pulled out a blank notebook and then looked around.

Arthur reached down into his own bag and pulled out a pencil, holding it out to him.

Merlin stared for a second. "How did you-?"

Arthur grinned. "I'm psychic."

Merlin laughed. "Lucky guess, more like."

Though if he was being honest, Arthur really wasn't psychic. He was a werewolf.

* * *

"So you're new here?" Arthur asked, following Merlin out of the classroom when the bell for the end of class rang. Obviously the answer was yes, but it seemed a good way to start up a conversation.

"Yeah. My mom is a nurse and she was offered a better-paying position at the hospital here in Camelot. So, here I am. It would have been nice if we'd been able to move _before _school started, but…" He shrugged.

"That must be rough. Where did you live before?"

"Ealdor. It was a small town, a few hours away. You probably haven't heard of it."

Arthur couldn't say that he had. "Well, I'm sure you'll feel right at home here at Camelot soon enough. What class do you have next?"

"Calculus."

Arthur made a face. "Ugh. Math. I've got history, but tell you what. If you don't get any better offers, come find me at lunch?" He really hoped Merlin would say yes, and that no one else would snap up the adorable new kid between then and lunchtime.

He needn't have worried. Merlin grinned wide. "That would be great, yeah!"

Arthur matched his grin. "I'll see you later then!" He gave a little wave and headed off to his next class, which was unfortunately in the opposite direction of Merlin's next class, but he would see the dark-haired boy again at lunch, so he was still in good spirits.

In fact, he wasn't all too sure what they'd discussed in class that day. His mind had been distracted by thoughts of Merlin, the scent of the boy sitting next to him distracting him. It had taken all of his will power not to turn and stare during class. Would he have any other classes with Merlin? Would he get along with his friends? What was he interested in? What sort of music did he like? Was he interested in guys or did he just wear skinny jeans because that was his style? Arthur very much hoped he was interested in guys.

If it wasn't obvious by this point, Arthur was not only a werewolf. He was a gay werewolf.

* * *

Arthur spotted the tall boy almost as soon as he'd stepped foot in the school cafeteria. He was alone, which probably meant that no one else had bothered to befriend him. Their loss was Arthur's gain. He got in line for his food and then looked around hesitantly, clearly lost in the sea of new people.

"Merlin!" Arthur waved him over and a look of relief passed over his features before he quickly schooled them in to a look of nonchalance and cautious friendliness.

He maneuvered through the tables, stepping over backpacks and squeezing through chairs with a tray full of the cafeteria's staples. Arthur pushed curly-haired Leon over to make room next to him as Merlin walked up. Arthur's friends were all looking at Merlin curiously as he shyly put his tray down next to Arthur's.

"Merlin, these are my friends: Leon, Gwaine, Elena, Percival, Mithian, Elyan, his sister Gwen, and Lance, whom you've already met. Everyone, this is Merlin. He's new."

He gave a little wave. They all made some kind of greeting.

"How's your first day been so far? How was _Calculus_?" Arthur asked.

Merlin smiled shyly and looked down, obviously not used to being the center of attention at a table full of people he'd just met. "Alright, I suppose. But the Calc teacher Miss Lake seems a little strange?"

"Calculus?" interrupted Gwaine. "Oh no, he actually has a brain, doesn't he? Why did you bring him here, he's going to realize what morons we all are!"

Elena, the blonde girl next to him, gave him a hard shove. "Speak for yourself!" She leaned past him to look at Merlin. "I know exactly what you're talking about, I have her in the afternoons. The way she talks about math problems as if they were matters of life and death, right? She's creepy."

"And the way she sort of stares people down? Her eyes are so blue, I figured she must wear contacts or something."

She ducked her head down and whispered as if sharing some secret, even though the entire table could still hear her. "People say she's a witch."

Leon cleared his throat loudly and Gwaine apparently was done letting Elena lean into his lap (though he looked like he'd enjoyed it), because he pushed her back out of his personal space and took a big bite of his cafeteria salad, though it was a pretty unappetizing mix of limp vegetables and watery dressing.

"So, Merlin," said Arthur, steering the conversation away from the occult. "Do you like sports? The guys and I all play basketball, and our team actually does really well."

"I, um… I'm not really one for sports, no. I was part of the photography club at my old school?" he offered, almost embarrassed.

At that, Gwen perked up from where she'd been passively watching the conversation with Lance's arm wrapped around her shoulders. "You're a photographer? Oh, that's too perfect! I'm an editor for the school newspaper, and our photographer just quit because she got a part time job. Please say you'll join?"

No one had ever said no to Gwen's wide puppy-dog eyes before, and Merlin wouldn't be the first.

"I'd love to," he smiled. It was a wide grin like the one he'd given Arthur earlier, and the blonde boy was relieved that Merlin looked like he was fitting right in with Arthur's friends.

* * *

It turned out, that aside from the chemistry class he had with Arthur, Lance, and Gwen, he also had Literature with Elyan, Leon, and Mithian, as well as History with Arthur and Gwaine as his last class. Arthur had commandeered three seats near the windows, keeping Merlin next to him. By the expression on Merlin's face, still cautious but slowly opening up more and more, he didn't mind in the slightest.

The bell rang and the students all trickled out of the classroom.

"We've got basketball practice," Gwaine was saying as they all headed to their lockers. "Everyday after school. There's a game on Friday night that coach wants us to be ready for. And Princess here always makes us practice until we're ready to drop," he said with a jab at Arthur's ribs.

Arthur ducked. "Maybe if you were better at free throws, I wouldn't have to."

"Are you…?" started Merlin.

"Captain? Yeah," said Arthur with a shrug.

"Oh, look who's being modest. How cute."

"Shut up!" Arthur pointedly turned all of his attention to Merlin. "What about you then? Just heading home?"

"Gwen said she'd introduce me to the teacher who's in charge of the school paper, help me learn the ropes and whatnot. I've got my own camera at home, but she said the school has some DSLRs for the students, and they're sure to be better than what I use, so I'm anxious to start playing around with them."

Arthur used the moment of opening his locker to pause the conversation, before asking with some embarrassment, "What's a DSLR?"

"Oh!" Merlin's cheeks turned pink. "Sorry, I forget not everyone's as big a nerd as me when it comes to cameras. It stands for digital single lens reflex. It's a type of camera. Um."

"You can show me later, yeah? When you become the official photographer for the school paper." Arthur winked. Unfortunately, he would be late for practice if he lingered any longer. "I've got to get to practice, but I'll see you tomorrow?"

Merlin nodded and smiled shyly. "Yeah, see you."

Arthur slammed his locker door and jogged of with a grin. The grin soon disappeared though, as the thought of Merlin's little smile sent his heart beating faster, and he felt wolfish canines drop down and his fingernails sharpen and elongate slightly into claws. He took a deep breath and willed himself back to normal. He hadn't had lost control of himself since he was first turned, and he wasn't about to now.

Gwaine appeared suddenly by way of a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "You okay?"

Arthur jumped. "Yeah. Just… wolfing out a bit." He shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"You? Mr. Epitome-of-self-control?"

"That's me, perfectly in control at all times." Arthur sighed, not because he was particularly bothered, but because he wasn't bothered. He knew he should be; randomly turning into a werewolf whenever Merlin smiled at him was certainly not something to be happy about, if not for the fact that he might be discovered and taken away to be studied like a lab specimen, then because Merlin would probably never agree to go out with him.

Gwaine grinned, realizing just what happened. "Aww, you've got a crush. Nice to know you actually have a heart like the rest of us mere mortals… and werewolves." He gave a wide, toothy smile at Arthur's glare.

As they pushed on the door that led to the boy's locker room, he shouted, "Big news everyone! Our untouchable captain has finally fallen prey to a cutie with big blue eyes."

Arthur shoved him as the rest of their teammates let out cat calls and wolf whistles.

"The new guy?" Percival asked. Arthur may not have dated much, despite his popularity, but it was pretty well-known that he preferred men to women. The only one who had a problem with it was Valiant, but he was obviously outnumbered and sat scowling as he laced up his shoes in the corner, not saying anything.

"Yes, the new guy, but none of you will say a word. I don't even know if he's gay."

"Don't worry, Princess," said Gwaine. "Did you see how tight his jeans were? If he's not at least bi, I'll shave my hair off." As he said this, he gave a pretty fabulous hair flip.

Arthur decided to ignore Gwaine and started changing into his practice clothes. "Okay, enough. All of you finish getting changed and go start warming up."

There were some mutters, but the subject was dropped. They all filed out to the basketball courts.

Lance lingered in the room. "Are you sure about… Merlin?" he asked when the others were out of earshot. Not that it wouldn't stop _some of them _from listening in if they wanted to, but anyone who shouldn't hear their conversation, wouldn't.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been with Gwen for a long time, since even before we were… changed," he said. "And it was hard to control my urges, even though Gwen and I were already in an established relationship. Gwaine and Leon have been lucky in being able to keep it from Elena and Mithian so far, but something might happen one day. I know you haven't tried to get involved with others for this reason. If your control slips…"

"I know, Lance." He didn't want to mention that his control had _already _slipped. "I think if even _Gwaine_ can manage when he's around Elena, I'll be able to manage just fine."

"I'm just saying. Be sure of what you're doing. And if you need us, you know the pack is always there for you,"

He forced a smile, knowing Lance was just trying to do what he thought was best for him and the pack. This time when he spoke, his tone was tinged with gratitude. "I know."

Lance nodded, satisfied with the conversation, and left to join the rest of the team.

Arthur took a moment to collect his thoughts. He had a lot on his mind; more than a regular teenager his age. Aside from being the gay werewolf captain of the basketball team, he was also the pack alpha.

"At least my life is never dull," he mused, before heading out to whip the team into shape for Friday's game.

* * *

That night, Merlin was cooking up something simple for dinner when his mother came home. He was used to taking care of things around the house since she had odd hours and often wasn't home in time to even eat with him.

"Oh, Merlin. Sorry, I had hoped I'd be home early enough to cook something for you."

"It's fine, Mom. You know I don't mind."

She gave a tired smile. "How was your first day at school? Make any friends?"

Merlin grinned, glad that he didn't have to pretend to have had a good day. "Actually, it was much better than expected. I met some friends and the school paper even let me join as the new photographer."

"That's wonderful! I'm so happy, Merlin. I know how hard it's been for you to move to a new town, especially in the middle of the school year." She settled into a chair at the table as Merlin set two plates of food down.

"I think it's going to work out, Mom." He smiled again and took a bite.

After dinner, Merlin went upstairs and called his best friend from Ealdor, Will.

He picked up on the third ring. "Hey! About time you called! How is Camelot treating you?"

"It's not bad. It's way bigger than Ealdor, and they actually have their own mall, though I haven't been there yet. How is life in Ealdor? Are they celebrating my absence?"

"Nah. You know how it is here, boring as hell. Especially now that you're gone. Where am I going to find a new magical sidekick to help with all my pranks?"

"Ha ha," said Merlin sarcastically. "Looks like you'll have to do things the old-fashioned way now."

"If I must," Will sighed. "We can't all be blessed with superpowers. But really. How's the new school? Get beat up yet?"

Despite his teasing words, Merlin could detect the faint trace of genuine worry in his friend's tone.

"It was good. More than good, actually. I think I'm even making friends."

"What? You don't want to be a lone wolf like me?"

"Don't even. I know you've secretly been seeing Freya."

Freya had been Merlin's first and only girlfriend, before he'd realized that womanly curves didn't arouse him in the slightest. Things had been kind of awkward between them ever since, but Merlin had spotted Will and Freya together more than once and figured out what was going on.

Then he realized the silence on the other end of the line lasted a little too long.

"Will? Sorry, I should have told you I knew. I'm not mad or anything."

"It's okay. We should have told you we were dating. How long have you known?"

"Since about a month before I left. I'm glad, though. She'll probably keep you out of trouble better than I ever did."

Will chuckled. "That's true. So who are these new friends of yours?"

"Well, first there's Arthur. You'd have to see him to believe me, but he's honestly the most perfect guy I've ever met."

"More perfect than me?"

Merlin ignored him. "I got seated next to him in chem and we started talking. He's the _captain _of the _basketball team _and he totally looks it. Tall, blond, and blue-eyed—"

"You're starting to sound like a girl, dude."

"—And he was really friendly. He invited me to sit with him and his friends at lunch, and honestly? If he hadn't, I don't know what I would have done. Probably sat at a table by myself like a loser. It was a little awkward still, since I was just meeting them and his guy friends were all on the basketball team too, but they were nice, not like the stupid jock stereotype or anything. There were a few girls as well. I'm thinking they were their girlfriends? I don't actually know, but anyway, one of the girls is an editor for the school newspaper and she helped me join as the new photographer."

"Well, look at you Mr. Popular."

Merlin laughed. "I know, right? I don't think they've realized what a nerd I am yet. Or I feel as though I'm going to go to school tomorrow and find out it was all some horrible prank on the new kid."

"They wouldn't dare. If they do, they'll invoke the wrath of the Willinator and his sidekick Magic Merlin."

"Will, stop. Those names are lame."

"Your face is lame."

"Really mature. Seriously, though. They seem nice, but it might just be because it was my first day? And they don't know I'm gay yet."

"And here I thought tall, blond, and blue-eyed had swept you into his arms and whisked you off into the sunset."

"Not quite. Did you miss the part about him being basketball team captain? He's probably had a million girlfriends, and probably of the pretty cheerleader variety, not… skinny photography nerds."

"Cheer up, Merlin. Even if they do all hate you, at least you don't have to listen to Old Man Simmons drone on about history anymore."

"You always know just what to say," he deadpanned.

"What are friends for?"

* * *

Contrary to last night's thoughts, when he arrived at school the next morning, he was neither shunned nor laughed at. In fact, Arthur seemed just as happy to see him as he had been the day before.

"Ready for your second day?" Arthur asked as Merlin plopped down in the seat next to him. Gaius had not yet arrived, so they were free to chat for a few minutes.

"As I'll ever be," Merlin muttered.

"So you're ready for our big test?"

"What?!" Merlin yelped, and nearly fell off his seat, attracting the attention of the rest of the class.

Arthur laughed, throwing his head back to expose his throat. "I'm only joking."

"Wow, yeah, thanks for that. Give me a heart attack, why don't you."

"Merlin, if anyone's going to be forgetting a test date around here, it's probably going to be me, not you."

The teacher entered the classroom then, so they stopped talking, but Arthur nudged Merlin with his elbow. Merlin nudged back, and looked over to see Arthur wearing a boyish grin that was totally immature and not at all adorable.

Midway through the lecture, Merlin noticed Arthur pushing a sheet of paper in his direction.

_So did Gwen get you on the school paper?_

Merlin looked up to see if anyone was paying attention; they weren't.

He scribbled back, _Yup, official photographer now. :)_

_Cool! You should come to the game on Friday and take pictures of me. ;)_

Merlin struggled to hide a laugh and glanced sideways at Arthur, but the blond gave nothing away. He appeared to be studiously taking notes, like everyone else. But this way, Merlin saw him in profile and realized that he would indeed make the excellent subject of a photo. With his strong jawline and straight nose and golden hair falling just so across his forehead… Or maybe, Merlin thought, he could get him to laugh again, like he had before. If Merlin could just capture that image of Arthur, gleaming and golden with that killer smile, and his head tipped back to expose his strong neck…

Arthur shot him a glance and Merlin realized that, not only had he not written a response yet, but he was staring.

Quickly, he wrote, _If I must. _He pretended to go back to taking notes, catching up on the bits he missed while waxing poetic about Arthur's good looks. Arthur didn't reply again, so he assumed he was doing the same, minus the waxing poetic part.

Class ended soon enough, and Merlin had to part from Arthur until lunchtime. He gave a little wave as he headed down the hall, following the stream of students to get to his calculus class. On the way though, a big muscular guy with short-cropped hair shouldered into him almost as if it were on purpose.

"Watch it, _fag,_" the guy snarled, and kept walking.

Merlin paled and looked around, but no one seemed to have noticed or cared. He had hoped things would be different at this school, and that he wouldn't get picked on or bullied. He knew he didn't exactly fit the typical jock mold, but he hadn't told anyone he was gay. And perhaps he shouldn't. He had been off to a good start, making new friends and getting involved. But would they still want to be friends with him if they knew his sexual orientation? They seemed like good people, but they were popular. They might not actually have a problem with him, but they still might not want to be seen with him. High school was cruel like that.

He hurried on to class before the bell could ring and sunk down into his seat, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.

The rest of the time leading up to lunch was uneventful. As he headed towards the cafeteria, packed in with the rest of the crowd hungry and eager to eat, he unconsciously slowed his step and hesitated.

He'd been having a good time at the school so far, but one mean little word and his cautious happiness shattered. Did he really want to go in there and sit with those people he barely knew, who barely knew him? Did he want to get close to them, become friends with them, and then watch them turn away when they find out he's gay? Or worse, carry on with being friends, but never tell them the truth?

"Merlin!" he heard his name called.

He turned and saw Gwen, Mithian, and Elena waving at him from a table. He had a sandwich and some snacks with him, so he didn't need to go through the lunch line. He also had no reason not to sit with them now that they'd noticed him and invited him over. Elena patted the seat next to her.

"The guys are off doing some basketball-related thingy," Elena said with a dismissive wave of her hand, as if she couldn't be bothered to remember. "But they'll be here soon. And anyway, we don't need them and their sports talk. I hear you're a part of the school paper now! Congratulations!" she said, throwing her arms around his shoulders in a very awkward hug.

Merlin wasn't sure if he should attempt to return it, or even if he could, considering his arms were pinned under hers. Before he had to make a decision, she pulled back abruptly.

"I'm so sorry! I don't even know you that well yet, and I'm throwing myself all over you! I'm really strange, everyone will tell you so."

"Not strange, just awkwardly adorable," contradicted Mithian from her other side. Her tone of voice made it clear that they had had similar discussions in the past.

"How has your second day been?" asked Gwen.

Immediately, the incident in the hallway came to mind, but he wasn't going to say anything about _that. _"It was fine," said Merlin. "Lectures, note-taking, the usual."

They nodded and continued eating their lunch. When the girls started talking about the upcoming homecoming dance, he made sure to keep his mouth full to avoid having to participate in the conversation.

"You can borrow my dress from last Christmas," Mithian was saying to Elena, who was trying to find some way out of not dressing up for the dance. "Besides, this will be your first dance with Gwaine," she argued.

"What about me?" The scruffy older boy appeared from behind them and leaned down to kiss Elena on the side of her face.

Merlin blinked. He hadn't been totally sure they were a couple yesterday, but now he had proof. Merlin scooted over to let him sit next to his girlfriend, but Elena grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"You trying to steal my girl, new kid?" asked Gwaine.

"What?" Merlin exclaimed. "No, I was—"

"Relax, I'm joking," the dark-haired man said with his easy grin. He went around the table to sit across from them instead. "So, what were you saying?"

"Probably just the usual stuff they say behind your back," said Percival, who sat down next to Gwaine. "Your hair is too girly, your face is too ugly… Elena was probably trying to think of a way to dump you without being cruel."

"I would never want to dump him for his looks," Elena protested. "I'm not shallow. If anything, I'd dump him because he has an awful singing voice, but insists on trying to serenade me in public places."

"Does he really?" asks Merlin.

"No!" said Gwaine.

"Yes!" said everyone else.

"We have video evidence," said Mithian.

"Of what?" At this point, the rest of the guys showed up, filling in the rest of the table, with Arthur on one side in front of Merlin, and Elyan and Lance on Gwen's end.

"Gwaine making a fool of himself."

"Oh yes, plenty of that."

Gwaine threw his hands in the air. "Is today Pick On Gwaine Day, and I wasn't informed?"

"It's always Pick On Gwaine Day, darling," said Elena.

"So! Food. I love food. Who else loves food?" he said, trying to change the subject.

"Are you boys ready for the game against Mercia?" asked Mithian, ignoring Gwaine entirely.

"Completely," said Elyan. "We could take them on any day."

"But just in case we couldn't before," added Percival, "Arthur's been working us to the bone. I don't think there's anything we can't handle after all of his training sessions."

"Someone has to whip you guys into shape," Arthur muttered through a mouthful of food.

"You girls are all coming, right?"

"You have to come be our moral support. If you don't come, we might lose and then the whole school will turn against you."

"Yeah, yeah," said Gwen with a roll of her eyes. "I need to write the article for the school paper's sports column anyway. Gilli was supposed to, but apparently he has a doctor's appointment or something."

"On a Friday night?"

She shrugged in response.

"So does that mean Merlin will be there taking pictures?" Arthur said with a wink in Merlin's direction.

Merlin prayed to whatever gods were listening that his blush wasn't obvious. "Yeah, I'll be there."

"Excellent! Another cheerleader for our side!" exclaimed Gwaine before getting smacked by Elena.

"We may cheer for you, but don't expect any short skirts or pom poms."

"No, of course not. Then we'd be too distracted to play."

The group chatted and ate their lunches and Merlin mostly watched them interact, envying how they all seemed to get along so easily, and wishing he could just skip the awkward new kid stage altogether. Sometimes he also snuck glances at Arthur. The blonde was mostly engaged in the conversation, but every so often, he would catch Merlin's eyes and smile.

Not an open, _you wanna say something? _smile, or afond, _aren't these guys crazy? _smile, but a small, shy smile that seemed out of place with the Arthur he had seen so far. He didn't know what it meant.

Then Arthur looked away and seemed to turn all of his attention to a spot on the table. Merlin didn't know what to make of that either.

* * *

Friday came faster than Arthur was expecting. He knew the team was ready, and there was a very good chance that they would win the game. After dressing in the locker room and giving the team the usual pep talk, they ran out into the gym to much fanfare; they were the pride of the school and so lots of students usually came to support them, especially for home games.

Arthur immediately located Merlin. He wasn't in the bleachers, but standing off to the side, with a large camera hanging from a strap around his neck. Gwen stood next to him, saying something to him, though they were both focused on the team as they came out. She blew a kiss to Lance, who pretended to receive it and blow one back. Arthur rolled his eyes and then noticed Merlin had been snapping photos during the exchange. He grinned and wondered if Merlin had caught anything on film that they could use to taunt the ridiculous couple later.

He forced himself to focus. The team was scattering to their positions and Percival walked forward for the jump off. With his towering height, they usually got the ball right away.

Mercia's player came forward, a guy Arthur remembered from past games, but who wasn't tall enough to match Percival. He could already see that the other team knew they wouldn't get the ball first, and were preparing to go on the defensive.

The whistle blew. The ball went up. Percival leaped up and smacked it to Gwaine, who performed a ridiculous but effective spinning maneuver that no one but Gwaine could ever seem to pull off.

He dribbled, then passed to Elyan when a Mercia player got in his way. Elyan passed to Arthur, who passed to Leon, who then passed back to Arthur, who jumped up to make a basket…

It went in.

The crowd from Camelot cheered—less than a minute into the game and already they had made a basket.

Arthur grinned and looked over to Merlin, who still had the camera in front of his face, but he must have noticed Arthur looking, because he lowered it and gave a thumbs up with a big grin.

Arthur flexed his fingers and willed his inner wolf to behave. Now was not the time to get distracted. They controlled the pace of the game for now; but he had seen teams get too comfortable and let their guard down after their first few baskets and then totally lose it later in the game.

"Alright guys, hustle! Hustle!"

Their coach was watching silently from the sidelines, but gave Arthur a nod.

Thankfully, the rest of the game seemed to be leaning in their favor. They scored three times, while Mercia only scored once. Arthur was out of breath, but smiling wide when half time was called.

He walked to the bench to get some water and a towel. Gwen had come over to help out Lance and it looked as if Merlin had followed her over. The dark-haired teen was standing off to the side, looking like he didn't know what to do with himself.

Arthur knew he wasn't the most attractive sight right now, with sweat plastering his hair to his forehead and his jersey sticking to him in awkward places, but he walked up to Merlin anyway and put on his best smile.

"What do you think?"

Merlin scrunched up his nose. "I think you're sweating like a pig and you smell like one too."

Arthur made a point of using his towel to sop up the sweat under his arms and then threw the cloth in Merlin's face. Merlin ducked and laughed.

"Seriously though, I think the team is great! You guys all seem really good on your own, but together you're awesome. Mercia's Bandits are gonna regret challenging you."

"So you do have some school spirit after all," said Arthur. He spotted the black camera clutched in Merlin's hands, much bigger and more complicated-looking than the little digital cameras he and his friends used sometimes. "So is that the… DCR?"

"DSLR," Merlin grinned. "Yeah, it's really great, much better than the Canon I have at home, and the focus is…" he trailed off. "Yeah. Been getting some great pictures."

"Of me?"

Arthur didn't think he was imagining the pink in Merlin's cheeks. "Of the team. They'll probably go up on the school website by Monday."

Arthur took another gulp of water and saw his coach waving at him. "I've got to get back to the game. Be sure to take lots of pictures of me in the second half." He motioned to left side of his face. "Get my good side, yeah?"

Merlin laughed and Arthur jogged off. He didn't need a pep talk or anything, just knowing Merlin was there, focusing on Arthur as he played, made him want to play his best.

Unfortunately, the second half didn't go as smoothly as the first. Mercia had decided to start playing dirty and the referee was ignoring a lot of it. Gwaine was jabbed by an elbow during a pass and another guy tripped Elyan as he was dribbling.

Arthur was annoyed, but it was nothing they couldn't deal with. The other team had made another basket, but the Knights were still in the lead, after all. There were only a few minutes left on the clock. Arthur received a pass from Gwaine and turned to face the basket when suddenly a body slammed into his side, sending him sprawling across the court and the ball flying from his hands.

"Sorry, dude," the Mercia player said with a mean smile. It was the team captain for the Bandits—Cenred was his name, Arthur remembered.

As he sat up, he could already feel that his knee was bruised, but he didn't think it was too bad. The referee called a time-out and the Camelot crowd was booing Cenred.

Percival offered Arthur a hand up as their coach appeared at his side. "Are you alright?"

Arthur hesitated and put his weight on his injured leg. He jumped up and down a bit, his natural werewolf healing ability already kicking in. "I'm fine, just a bruise. I can still play."

He glanced in Merlin's direction and inwardly winced at the thought of him witnessing Arthur's totally ungraceful meeting with the hardwood floors. Hopefully he hadn't caught that on film, but right then Merlin was just looking at him with concern, camera forgotten.

"Are you sure?" asked his coach, Kilgharrah. "Don't play the hero. There are only a few minutes left, I could put Valiant in."

Arthur shook his head. Valiant was a good player—he was fast, he had stamina, he could shoot—but he wasn't a team player. Arthur and Kilgharrah both knew that.

"I'm fine. Like you said, there's not much time left. I can do it."

The coach looked at him closely and peered down at his knee before nodding. Sometimes Arthur wondered if the coach knew about their secret.

The game resumed. Mercia was still trying a few tricks here and there, but the Camelot players were not tolerating their foul play any longer. Arthur hated using any of his supernatural gifts like strength or speed, since it gave him an unfair advantage, and normally he strictly forbade his pack from doing so as well. But when a Bandits player tried to trip Leon and he changed his course almost too quickly for any normal human, or when Percival jumped just a little too high to intercept a pass, Arthur turned a blind eye.

Mercia had the ball, and one of their players made a lucky shot—they were tied. Thirty seconds left on the clock.

They were back up the court in no time, Lance dribbling slow enough to consider his next move carefully. Twenty seconds left.

He passed to Gwaine, who made a bounce pass to Leon. Leon didn't have a clear shot, so he passed to Percival. Ten seconds left.

Percival tried to shoot from the free-throw line, but the ball bounced off the rim. One of the Mercia players jumped for it, but Arthur grabbed it first and as soon as he had it, he jumped back up and made a shot. Three… Two… One…

The ball went in, the buzzer went off, and the Knights won the game.

The crowd was screaming and cheering with delight and Arthur's teammates all crowded around him to give him a congratulatory slap on the back. They lined up along with the other team for the obligatory "good game." The Bandits didn't put much feeling into it, but Arthur hadn't expected them to. They soon slunk off, and left Camelot to its victory.

As soon as the team returned to the bench for water, it seemed that was the cue for everyone to start popping up. Elena, the first to reach them, threw her arms around Gwaine in an aggressive tackle-hug. Gwen and Mithian soon followed, along with a few others who wanted to congratulate them or possibly suck up to them. He spotted a couple of cheerleaders, Vivian and Sophia, who were as vapid as they were pretty, and usually dated a guy from whatever sport was in season.

Arthur looked around for Merlin, wanting very much to have his own person to be proud of him (and maybe give him a congratulatory kiss, if that wasn't too much to ask for.) He was standing off to the side again and Arthur broke off from the group to get his attention.

Merlin looked up, and as he took in Arthur coming towards him, he looked so hopeful and adorable that Arthur decided to take a chance and plunge right off the cliff of reason and propriety.

"So, now you've seen a Camelot game. There's no going back now."

"No, I suppose not," Merlin smiled. "You were great out there, Arthur. Really. Is your knee okay?"

He looked down at his barely bruised knee. He'd forgotten about that. "Totally fine. Listen, Merlin," he said earnestly. The photographer's brow furrowed at the change in tone. "This might just be the adrenalin giving me courage right now, so hopefully I'm not wrong, and this doesn't blow up right in my face…" Oh god, he was rambling wasn't he? "But the homecoming dance is tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you would go with me."

Merlin stared at him, wide eyed. His mouth opened, but he didn't say anything for a moment.

"…Go with you? As your date?"

Arthur wanted to disappear into the ground. "Oh shit, you're straight, aren't you?" He ran a hand threw his sweaty hair. "I'm so sorry! Forget I asked, I didn't—"

"Arthur!" Merlin waved a hand to get his attention. "Sorry, I just… was surprised. I didn't think… I mean, I figured you…" He stopped and took a deep breath. "What I mean to say is yes, I would love to go with you."

It took Arthur a moment to process what Merlin said. "Really?"

"Really." Merlin was beaming so wide and beautiful, that Arthur knew he didn't hear him wrong.

"I'll pick you up at six tomorrow night," he said. "If that's okay? We're all going out to eat first."

Merlin nodded shyly. "That's fine."

The rest of the team was already heading to the locker rooms to shower. Arthur looked over at them, then back at Merlin. He wanted to hug him or something, but was suddenly conscious of how sweaty and gross he was.

In the end, Merlin made a decision for him when he leaned forward and gave Arthur a kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow," he said quickly, and then hurried away.

Arthur felt like he was floating. He wanted to jump and shout. He wanted to run outside and howl at the moon.

Instead, he hid the claws that had snuck out in his excitement by clenching his hands into fists, and headed towards the locker rooms to shower.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, sorry for the long wait. I'm afraid future updates will also take some time. I'm pretty busy with classes and whatnot, but who knows? Maybe that will make me update faster. I tend to start working on fanfics when I want to procrastinate on schoolwork. Anyway, enjoy the new chapter?

* * *

"Mom! Do you know which box my nice jacket is in?"

Merlin was rushing around, trying to dress appropriately—he needed a nice jacket, but a tie would be too much, right? He wanted to look good, but he didn't want to get teased for being over-dressed. Unfortunately, a lot of his things were still packed away in boxes and he wanted to yell at himself for being too lazy to unpack the things he didn't think he'd need.

Arthur would be there in a half hour if he was on time (and if he hadn't just been messing with the new kid), and Merlin still couldn't find his jacket, though he was wearing his nice black jeans and a plain button-down shirt.

"It's probably in the box with all the other clothes from the back of your closet that you never wear." His mother's face appeared in the doorway, looking amused. "I told you to unpack everything when we first moved here. I won't say 'I told you so,' but…"

"I know, I know, you're always right," he muttered while digging through a box filled with some of his old winter coats and sweaters.

She sighed. "When you find it, I'll iron it for you. You probably didn't even fold it properly when you packed it, and it won't do for this Arthur to think you dress like a slob."

He felt the tips of his ears go pink and huffed.

"By the way, I want to meet him when he comes to pick you up, so I can see the boy that has you so smitten."

"Mom!" he said in the whine that teenagers everywhere had perfected.

Hunith smiled knowingly and disappeared into the hall. "Better find that jacket, Merlin!"

In the end, Merlin found his jacket squashed at the bottom of a box filled with his other "nice" clothes—suits that were now too small for him, a couple of jackets that had belonged to his father, but were still too large for him, and some disgustingly shiny black shoes that he had never worn and never would if he could help it.

"I found it!" he called. When he brought it out to Hunith, she shook her head at the wrinkled state of it, but started ironing without a word.

"You be careful, Merlin," she said suddenly, her face now serious. "If anything happens, I want you to call me."

He looked at her, studying the lines in her face and under her eyes that betrayed her age despite the energy and iron will she normally possessed, the familiar little wrinkle of concentration on her brow as she ironed out his jacket. He knew why she was worried; Merlin, the new kid, was going on a date with another boy he'd only just met in a new town. He wasn't just gay, he was also magic. It was bad enough that he'd been outed so quickly, if anyone found out about the magic…

But what he said was, "Don't worry, Mom. I'll be safe. I promise."

The doorbell rang a few minutes later, a chiming sound that faded out painfully, like the cry of a dying animal. There were many things about their new house that Merlin wanted to fix up, and he knew that several things would need to be replaced soon. But he didn't have time to think about that now. He dashed for the door, still without his jacket.

When he opened the door, Arthur stood there, wearing a dark button-down and a grey jacket paired with dark jeans, similar to what Merlin was wearing, but not so similar that they would look like they dressed to match. His blond hair was stylishly tousled and his genuine smile when he saw Merlin made Merlin's heart jump and start to beat faster.

"Hey," he said, and he hoped his voice wasn't really as high-pitched as it sounded to his ears.

"Hey," said Arthur. "Are you going to invite me in?"

"Oh, yes! Right, yeah. Please come in! My mom wanted to meet you…" Merlin trailed off, aware that his face was growing redder by the second.

"I wouldn't dream of sweeping you off without greeting your mother first," Arthur winked. Merlin elbowed him.

"And I wouldn't let him get swept off without a jacket."

They both turned at the sound of her voice to see Merlin's mother standing there with Merlin's jacket in her hands and an amused smile on her face.

Merlin sheepishly took his jacket from her and Arthur straightened.

"Mrs. Emrys, it's lovely to meet you."

"Likewise, Arthur. And just Hunith is fine. I've heard a lot about you." Arthur glanced at Merlin, who blushed. "I trust you'll take care of my boy?"

"_Mom._"

"Don't you worry, he's in good hands," said Arthur. "I'll make sure he has a great time. I won't keep him out too late."

Hunith smiled. "Don't worry about the time, just have fun and be safe."

Merlin started inching towards the door, and Arthur followed.

"Don't worry about me, Mom. I'll see you in the morning."

"It was lovely to meet you, Mrs. Emrys—I mean, Hunith."

"You too, Arthur. Come by for dinner some time, and I'll make something special."

She closed the door as they walked down to Arthur's car parked in the driveway.

"Sorry about that," said Merlin. "She worries. You know, moms..."

Arthur smiled, a little sadly Merlin thought. "No, I don't know moms. Mine died when I was just a baby."

Merlin bit his lip. "Shit. I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Arthur."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like you had anything to do with it. And your mom's great. Really. I didn't mind at all."

Arthur opened the passenger door for Merlin, who slid into the seat nervously, wondering if he'd already ruined the whole night, and they were both silent as Arthur started the car and backed out onto the road.

"So, you told her about me, huh?" said Arthur, breaking the silence.

"Shut up. Of course I did."

"All good things, right?"

"Well yeah, I had to talk you up a bit. You know."

"Talk me up a bit?" he scoffed. "Impossible! I'm already perfection incarnate."

"And of course, I mentioned how modest you are."

"Of course."

Merlin grinned, glad that the mood was lighter again. "So, where are we going for dinner?"

"Just the diner. Our group goes there a lot, and there will probably be other people there before the dance. It's a pretty popular spot."

Arthur pulled into a parking lot, already pretty full of other cars, and they headed into the diner, a brightly painted structure, with a sign lit up in neon that simply read "Camelot Diner."

Arthur stepped forward so that he could open the door for Merlin, and gestured for him to go in first with a grand sweep of his arm.

"What a gentleman," Merlin joked, as he stepped inside.

He was assaulted by noise; the restaurant was full of people, mostly other students, dressed up like Merlin and Arthur and obviously out to eat before heading to the school. It was a bit overwhelming, since Merlin still didn't know many people outside of the circle of friends Arthur had pulled him into.

He felt Arthur's hand lightly press at the small of his back and he turned to find him close.

"They're at the back table," he said, loud enough to be heard over the din. "That's where we usually sit, since it's one of the only tables big enough for all of us."

Arthur led the way, Merlin following close behind, as they approached a table already full of their friends.

"There you two are!" Elena waved excitedly at them.

Lance and Gwen moved over to make room for the two of them at the end of the large booth that was curving around the back table. After Lance and Gwen were Leon, Mithian, Percival, Elyan, Gwaine, and finally Elena. It was a tight fit, and Merlin found himself pressed up against Arthur with a table full of people watching the two of them.

He blushed at the attention. Arthur leaned back, with his arm across the back of the booth, almost close enough to be across Merlin's shoulders. It was suddenly very obvious that they were there as a couple, and Merlin glanced up to check people's reactions.

Well. No one acted particularly surprised.

"I'm so happy for you two!" Elena gushed. "I mean, I thought you were gay, you look pretty gay, but of course you can't just _assume _something like that, but now you—"

Gwaine covered her mouth and winked at Merlin. "Elena, darling. Have you decided on what you're going to order?"

"Merlin, what were the dances like at your old school?" asked Mithian. "You probably weren't forced to hold them in a school gym, were you?"

"Oh, come on! Decorating the gym in tacky balloons and streamers is classic!" said Gwen. "Where else would we hold it?"

"I wouldn't complain if it was somewhere else, actually," said Elyan. "I spend enough time in the gym as it is. I wouldn't mind adding a little variety to my high school memories."

Gwen rolled her eyes and Lance patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Merlin smiled at the easy banter in the group. "Actually, a gym sounds pretty good. Our school was so small that we didn't have our own gym. If we were lucky, they'd rent the city hall. I didn't go to many dances though." He shrugged nonchalantly.

That was an exaggeration, to be honest. He'd only gone to one school dance, and that was because Will had actually managed to get a date, but still wanted Merlin to be there for moral support. Merlin, of course, had never had a date; aside from providing back-up for Will and asking Freya for a couple awkward dances, he had never had a reason to go.

"Then hopefully ours won't disappoint you," said Mithian as she leaned against Leon.

He glanced quickly at Arthur; if it wasn't for the blond, he wouldn't have a reason to go this time either.

Arthur seemed to sense that he was being watched, because he turned to look at Merlin and smiled. Merlin smiled back.

"Ugh, can we order? Not that this isn't very stimulating conversation and all, but I'm starving," Gwaine said exasperated. He glanced around for a waiter or waitress, but it was so busy that no one was free.

Elena brought her fingers to her lips and whistled, loud and shrill. Everything in the diner stilled for a moment. "Hey, can we get some service over here?"

Gwaine burst into laughter and wrapped Elena in a hug, even as she waved a waiter over. "This is why I love you," he said into her shoulder through his giggles.

Merlin leaned against Arthur, slightly wide-eyed with amazement. "Is this a common occurrence?" He knew Elena wasn't exactly shy, but he'd never met anyone so unafraid of calling attention to herself. Well, except for maybe Will. He hoped the two never got the chance to meet.

"I'd tell you that you get used to her," said Arthur into Merlin's ear, "except I've known her for years, and she still manages to surprise me."

Merlin shivered at Arthur's close proximity, and then looked around at the rest of the table to distract himself. The guys were laughing at Elena's antics and Gwen and Mithian were fondly exasperated, in the way that only friends or family members could be.

These were good people and good friends, Merlin became more and more certain of this the more he spent time with them.

They finally ordered and got their food, at the expense of the harried wait staff. Around eight o'clock they hopped into their respective cars and headed to the school.

Like Gwen said, the gym looked like every tacky school dance seen in the movies, with cheap streamers hanging across the walls, balloons tied down at various spots, and a table with punch and snacks up against the far wall. A DJ was set up and already playing music, but no one was really dancing; the few people who had arrived were content to mingle and loiter until more people showed up.

Their lot regroups at a strategic spot near the food. Gwaine and Elena are already sharing a handful of small cookies. Some of them wave to people they know and occasionally someone makes a comment about who came with who, but it's hard to make good conversation over the noise of the music.

The song changes, switching to some remixed version of one of the latest hit songs, and a few people start dancing to the music.

Merlin nudges Arthur and half yells to be heard, "I'll warn you in advance that I'm a horrible dancer."

Arthur chuckles. "I'm not particularly good at it myself, but all you really do for this kind of music is bounce around anyway."

"You laugh, but I'm not joking. It's like I have an extra set of limbs or something."

Arthur tries to pull him onto the dance floor anyway, as Merlin shakes his head and stubbornly refuses to move. Then their whole group gets the idea that now is a good time to migrate to the dance floor, and Gwaine and Elena move behind Merlin, so that he has no choice but to move forward. Merlin reluctantly allows Arthur to pull him into the circle that the group of friends quickly creates.

There was no real pattern to the dance. Like Arthur said, everyone was just sort of bouncing to the music and despite the couples, no one paired off to dance on their own. Merlin watched Arthur to get cues on how to move, but he lacked any sort of subtlety and soon Arthur had caught on to the fact that Merlin was mimicking him. He started performing all sorts of ridiculous moves just to watch Merlin copy them exaggeratedly, usually with an extra flail or flourish.

The two were laughing by the time the song had ended, but they quickly sobered as the next song turned out to be a slow one, despite the fact that it was still fairly early. Lance and Gwen, Leon and Mithian, and Gwaine and Elena all paired off, and Percival gave a shrug and then grabbed Elyan so that the two jocks could cavort around the dance floor in a mock slow dance.

Arthur raised his eyebrow at Merlin. With a little bow and a grin he said, "May I have this dance, good sir?"

Merlin grinned wide. "You may," he agreed, stepping forward into Arthur's space.

They had been alone in Arthur's car earlier, and they'd been forced to sit close together at the diner with all their friends crowded into the one booth, but this was different somehow. This was Merlin willingly stepping up to Arthur, close enough to wrap his arms around Arthur's neck and close enough that Arthur could place his hands at Merlin's waist (and when had Merlin become the girl in the relationship?). It was dark, and the music was loud, and it was hard to focus on anything other than Arthur when he was _right there _and looking at Merlin like he was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.

Arthur leaned forward to whisper to Merlin, his words tickling Merlin's ear, "I think you're a pretty damn good dancer, extra limbs and all."

Merlin whispered back, "I have a good teacher."

The dance was still going when Arthur decided to take Merlin home around midnight; their friends were slowly trickling out and Merlin's yawning was becoming more obvious as the night wore on.

When Arthur pulled up in Merlin's driveway, Merlin was drowsy and content in the passenger seat. Arthur went around to open the door for him and Merlin gave him a dopey smile.

"I'm not a girl, you know," he said as Arthur walked with him the few steps to the door.

"No, but you are my boyfriend."

Merlin was suddenly completely awake and Arthur's eyes had gone wide with the realization of what he just said.

"Shit. I mean. That came out all wrong. I was going to ask you to… I get it if it's too fast, but…" Arthur paused to take a deep breath. "What I mean is that I really like you, Merlin. And I would like very much for you to be my boyfriend."

Merlin stepped forward on impulse and kissed the blond soundly on the lips. "I would like very much to be your boyfriend, Arthur."

Arthur was very still. "Great," he said, though his voice sounded strange. He had started backing towards his car. "I'll—I'll text you, yeah? Good night, Merlin."

And in the next moment, he was in his car and speeding away down the street.

Merlin stood, staring after him in confusion. Everything had seemed like it was going really well right up until… well, right up until he kissed Arthur. Was it a bad kiss? Admittedly, Merlin didn't exactly have a lot of experience, but he didn't like totally miss and kiss his nose or anything. He didn't understand what just happened.

Frowning, he went inside to get some sleep.

* * *

He was driving well above the speed limit, but as soon as Arthur spotted a stretch of wood, passing the stretch of homes and private properties, he braked hard and pulled his car over onto the side of the road. In an instant, he was out and running, finally letting his inner wolf take over.

He had almost lost control right there in front of Merlin. He'd just gotten so excited when Merlin kissed him and agreed to be his boyfriend and…

But now, he was free. He ran faster and faster, going deeper into the forest as he felt his body change, becoming covered with a thick layer of fur-like hair, his canine teeth sharpening and elongating, his ears growing larger and more pointed so as to be able to hear better. His fingernails elongated into claws and his limbs and muscles grew and stretched and changed. The transformation used to be painful, but now it all occurred within mere seconds, and Arthur was free to race through the darkness until he reached the highest point he could find, on the peak of a hill.

He wanted to jump, to shout, to howl at the moon… He wanted Merlin.

Merlin. Merlinmerlin_merlin_. Merlin, who he could now call his boyfriend, his _mate. _With every beat of his heart, he could feel his desire flowing through his veins to every fiber of his being. He wanted to hold him, kiss him, claim him, and show the whole world that Merlin was _his _now.

He took a deep breath, calming the inner beast inside. He fought down the urge to let out a great, joyful howl; he knew that his pack would hear it and come at his call. He didn't particularly feel up to enduring their teasing when he knew he'd probably receive the full force of it when he saw them at school on Monday.

He shook himself and with one last gulp of fresh air and a smile at the moon, not yet full, but still large in the sky, he began the trek back to where he'd left his car. He needed to control himself; he couldn't just run off into the woods every time Merlin kissed him. (Because if that were the case, he'd definitely never make it past first base.) He had to at least get Merlin to trust him fully before he revealed that he was actually a werewolf.

And now he was making long term plans to tell Merlin everything! Mithian and Elena didn't even know yet, and they'd been friends with the whole pack for years.

What he should really do right now, he decided, was to go home, get some sleep, and think on everything in the morning.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan.

His half-sister Morgana was still waiting up when he arrived home.

"How was the dance?" she sing-songed, peering at him from over the back of the couch she was lounging on. Playing on the television was some late-night showing of a tacky horror show. On screen, a screaming girl wearing a low-cut blouse was decapitated by an ax-wielding man in a display of horrible CGI effects.

"What the hell are you watching?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Who did you go with?" she asked, undeterred. "Please tell me you didn't go stag again. It should be a crime for the popular captain of the high school basketball team to not have a date."

"And I keep telling you, my life is not a television show, stop stereotyping me!"

She sighed, "Please, if I were stereotyping you, I'd be asking you how many cheerleaders are claiming to be carrying your baby."

"Ew, Morgana!"

She ignored him. "As it is, I know you have no interest in short skirts or pom poms, and you are avoiding answering my question, so obviously you _did _go with someone, so just spit it out already before I resort to blackmail!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," he muttered, aware that she was in possession of more than a few photos that she had yet to post on facebook, but it was only a matter of time. "I went with Merlin."

"Merlin?" Her brow furrowed. "Do I know him?" She was well acquainted with most of Arthur's friends, but she had never met anyone by that name that she remembered.

"He's new in town," Arthur answered vaguely.

"Aww, showing the new kid around," she crooned. "How sweet. Is he cute?"

"I'm going to bed."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Leave it alone, Morgana."

"Arthur." If there had been a lingering note of teasing in her voice, he would have ignored her. But her voice became somber and serious so fast that he had to look back at her. "Are you serious?" she asked.

He really didn't want to have this conversation right now. "Maybe," he shrugged.

"You know that I want you to be able to live a normal life as much as anyone, but… The fact is, you aren't normal. You'll never be normal again. If you really are serious about being in a relationship with this boy, are you really willing to risk your secret, your pack's secret? What if you tell him, and he decides that's not something he wants to deal with?"

"Gwen knows about Lance, and she's okay with it."

"You know that's totally not the same thing. They've practically been married since they were in diapers. How much do you really know about Merlin? Really?"

Arthur snapped, "I know that I like him more than anyone I've met before, Morgana. That's why I want to spend more time with him and get to know him and maybe one day, if I think I can really trust him with, not only my secret, but the pack's secret—because I'm not stupid, despite what you seem to think—then I want to be able to take a risk and tell him everything about me, hoping that he can accept me for who I am, hoping that he won't run away screaming. Because I think I deserve at least a chance at happiness and normalcy!"

Morgana's features softened. "Okay. I get it."

They were both silent for a few moments, Arthur taking a breath to calm down again, and Morgana considering him thoughtfully.

"Don't tell Uther," she said quietly.

"Hah," he laughed humorlessly. "As if he's ever around or would even speak to me if he was."

"He may be coming by sometime soon," said Morgana. "Another pack of werewolves was spotted in the next state. If they continue the way they've been going, they'll be heading our way."

"What? Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"You've been busy with basketball and this dance and… I just wanted to wait."

"Is Uther really planning to confront them here?" His fists clenched at the thought. He didn't want anything to threaten the safety of the pack, even something as seemingly insignificant as bringing the attention of other werewolves and hunters to their area.

His pack had managed to keep a low profile so far; luckily their town was near enough to the woods and unpopulated areas that they had room to run around and let out some energy when the inner wolf got too restless; that and they could rely on each other if they needed to. But they could only stay hidden as long as no one was looking for them.

Arthur's father had done what he could to deflect attention from their area, despite his shame at having a werewolf for a son. But he was still his father first and a hunter second, and had reluctantly agreed to leave Arthur and his pack alone, as long as no one got hurt. That was why Morgana was still living at home instead of hunting with Uther; to keep an eye on him.

However, none of their precautions would matter if another group of werewolves brought more hunters here. Uther may agree to turn a blind eye, but there was no way he could convince another hunter to do the same.

It was all very complicated, and he'd been trying not to think about it, willing to pretend he could live a normal life as a normal teenager. Apparently, the universe wasn't going to cooperate.

Arthur ran a hand through his hair. It was late; he didn't have the energy to think about this, his mood crashing from his high from his night with Merlin to the low of finding out about the coming threat. "Good night, Morgana," he said tiredly.

"Good night, Arthur."


End file.
